Korn, among the most popular post-grunge bands ever with more than 15 million albums sold in the United States alone, will headline Musikfest’s main Steel Stage venue on Aug. 13, the festival just announced.

The announcement means that my guess it would be Stone Temple Pilots was wrong.

You don’t know how sorry I am.

Sorry I misled you.

Sorry I stayed awake all night trying to figure it out.

The band is the seventh headliner announced for this year’s 10-day festival, which will run Aug. 5-14. The opening act will be Canadian alt-rockers Art of Dying.

Korn frontman Jonathan Davis in in 2004Photo by Courtney N. Moser/Special to The Morning Call

Tickets, at $30 and $42, will go on sale at 10 a.m. Tuesday to ArtsQuest Members and 10 a.m. Friday to the public at www.musikfest.org or 610-332-3378.

Korn’s a good choice for an outdoor arena show. Its first five albums in the United States alone sold 15 million copies and had 13 Top 30 alternative rock hits.

But the band is best known for its song “Freak on a Leash” from its 1998 album “Follow the Leader.” The song hit No. 6 on the alternative chart when first released, then again charted, hitting No. 29, when a second version of it was released from the band’s “MTV Unplugged: Korn” album in 2007.

The also band won a Grammy Award for Best Short Form Video for "Freak on a Leash." It won a second Grammy for Best Metal Performance for "Here to Stay" from 2002’s album “Untouchables.” Its other hits include “Here to Stay,” “Falling Away From Me,” “Make Me Bad” and “Twisted Transistor.”

Its last Top 30 alternative rock hit was 2007’s “Evolution,” but its song “Oildale Leave Me Alone)” from its latest disc, 2010’s “Korn III — Remember Who You Are,” hit No. 10 on the Mainstream Rock chart.

After its self-titled debut disc, all eight of Korn’s albums have hit the Billboard Top 10 – nine of them No. 3 or higher, and two, “Follow the Leader” and 1999’s “Issues,” hitting No. 1. “Korn III” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock/Alternative Albums charts and No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

I have to admit this is one I didn’t see coming.

I wasn’t convinced my Stone Temple Pilots pick was right, but I thought I had a chance.

This is the second time this year I have incorrectly guessed a Musikfest announcement. In my defense, the first time, I guessed it would be Maroon 5, and it ended up being Straight No Chaser. But two days later, Musikfest announced Maroon 5 also would be coming.

But in making the Korn announcement, radio station WZZO-FM, 95.1 also said it will be making another Musikfest announcement next week.

Coincidence?

If the festival announces that Stone Temple Pilots is coming, I’m going to be pretty suspicious.

"post-grunge". What? Who uses that term? Oh, and yeah, Korn is terrible.

Posted By: tree | Apr 19, 2011 10:38:49 PM

Tree- i agree- i havent heard the term post grunge since the mid 90's but it goes along with this article since it's a band that would have been a huge draw in the mid 90's. Hey i'm sure sugar ray and smashmouth are available for a show this summer with the baja men opening.. Am i the only one hoping musikfest and their new venture bombs? I mean the valley needs a good scene and some good concerts- but clearly parks and company are still SO out of touch

Posted By: larry | Apr 19, 2011 11:19:17 PM

Shouldn't the title be "ONCE POPULAR" band or do we live in some strange land where Hula-Hoops, Pet Rocks, and Korn are always popular.

Posted By: Barry | Apr 20, 2011 12:27:01 AM

The arguement for not getting heavier rock bands because of the crowd it attracts just went out the window. Korn, really? I understand the restraints on booking bands (i.e. tour schedule, venue size, budget) but someone else really needs to be picking bands. Nice try Musikfest, but no. Good luck selling that one out. And please we don't need Stone Temple Pilots twice in three years. You can do better than that.

Posted By: Marc Kovacs | Apr 20, 2011 12:15:56 PM

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JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.